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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22654621">Maybe there's something about you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/926Ren/pseuds/926Ren'>926Ren</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, High School AU, no powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:34:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,213</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22654621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/926Ren/pseuds/926Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maggie had just moved from Blue Springs. Then she sees Alex.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Secret Sanvers | A Sanvers Valentines Day Event</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Maybe there's something about you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a gift for the Sanvers Valentine’s Day Event to Anna Dhermain. I hope you enjoy it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Maggie first saw Alex when they were 15 and arrived in Midvale with her aunt.  They had just left Blue Springs and moved to a small house three blocks away from the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was going to be a nice change, according to Lauren. Maggie didn't think so but never said anything, she was already lucky enough she still had a roof over her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she helped Lauren move some boxes from the car to the porch of their supposedly new home, she heard the sound of bicycle brakes and turned around. Two girls, one blonde with glasses and the other with a short auburn hair, that gave her an almost androgenous look, had stopped in front of the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde one was the first to speak, with a soft and amiable smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey. Did you guys just move to Mr. Wilson's house?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie looked around the porch still with a mildly heavy box in hand, having no clue who this Mr. Wilson was. She shrugged. "I guess?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you need any help?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie raised an eyebrow finding the question weird. In the place where she came from, neighbors weren't really that forthcoming when it came to be nice. "No?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ok"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She watched with a little bit of an astonished face as the two girls left in the beach's direction, with the short haired one saying to the blonde something along the lines of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why you have to be so weird?. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maggie wished she could have listened to her voice better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who were those?". Lauren asked coming to take the box from Maggie's hand and finally making her stop staring into the street's direction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>she answered still surprised at the quick interaction she had with the girls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No idea"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Soon enough Maggie figured out who they were. To be more exact, she found it out on the following day, her first day in Midvale's High, as a small boy named Winn Scott showed her around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And here is where most of our team's practice. Soccer, Football, Rugby…".</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a whistle. "Looks fancy"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It is. The try outs are close now, but maybe next year you can join in"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maybe"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stood there for a couple of minutes, watching the girl's soccer team practice kick offs. In Maggie's opinion they seemed like a very interesting and organized team, even if she had never heard of them since she was all the way up to Nebraska.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From the top of the bleachers, Maggie could see they had girls that couldn't be much taller than her, and knowing she might actually have a chance here, Maggie started to think she could occupy her with something that wasn't her parents, Eliza Wilky or being left alone in the middle of the streets with nothing but a backpack.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sense of dread she had been feeling in the past months suddenly started to surface again. It usually left Maggie with her eyes full of tears that she had to fight not to fall, accompanied with a body ache she couldn't tell exactly where it started. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been months since she confessed her feelings through a small letter to the pretty girl that was also her best friend with the intention to take her to the Valentine’s dance their school was promoting; months since her dad had called her names in front of all her relatives; months since her aunt took her in and promised she would be ok, even if Lauren was still on her late 20's.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie crossed her arms around herself and tried to focus on the field again. She wasn't about to have a break down in the middle of the school. Luckily, a voice she had heard in the previous day took her attention from that unpleasant tray of thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey, Winn! Have you seen James? Ms. Grant wants to know about the photos from- … oh, hi, aren't you the girl from Mr. Wilson's house?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie nodded, kinda wondering how if a human being could look like a labrador. Before she could say anything, though, the boy Winn cut her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yep, this is Maggie. Maggie, this is Kara. And I haven't seen James, just been giving her the tour all morning."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nice to meet you". Kara extended her hand for Maggie to shake, her face breaking into a genuine smile that made Maggie think this girl might be too young to be in highschool already.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nice to meet you". Maggie answered trying to give the best smile she could. It was probably not a very good one, smiling was not much on the table for her those days.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kara may have noticed because Maggie saw her making an intrigued face, a tiny crinkle forming between her eyes. She was probably going to ask if Maggie was ok and that made Maggie's stomach drop. She really wasn't in the mood for that kind of questioning, she didn't even know where to start.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There must really be some sort of magical influence from above, because another person interrupted the conversation, making the little blonde's attention shift to someone that wasn’t Maggie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey Kara, we're leaving. Hey, Winn."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie watched as the second girl from yesterday approached the three of them as she talked. A soccer jersey hanging on her left shoulder and her hair all messed up, wet on the base from the sweat. Her sports bra and shorts were dirty, as if she had just laid down on the mudd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She really didn't register when Kara let go of her hand or when she said goodbye, she only waved as a reflex when she noticed Winn doing the same. The auburn haired girl only acknowledged Maggie with a small nod. It was enough to leave her frozen on the spot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And that was Alex." Winn said after the girls were out of earshot, making Maggie snap out of it. "Guess you finally met the Danvers sisters. They're the best"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the next day everyone at the school was aware Maggie was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>new girl</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but even though Midvale's High wasn't as small as Maggie's previous highschool, she figured gossip would fly around fast anywhere, besides, someone changing schools right after the winter break was more than unusual, she couldn't really blame them. Lauren assured her the attention wouldn't last too long and that in the next week all students would have found something else to talk about. Maggie hoped so, even if she didn't think the talks and looks at her would go away that soon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But even with this discomfort, Maggie would take being the new one in Midvale ten times over having to spend one more day on her old high school. Here she didn't have to worry about being pushed against walls or lockers while walking around the hallways; she also haven't been called any names since she had stepped in this school in Midvale.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The progress in her life since she moved was already unquestionable, maybe even giving Maggie the slight impression the people here could be more gentle. But Maggie definitely knew better than to just have hope like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked through the door of her biology class, the last one before the lunch break, and went straight to the teacher. He greeted her with a serious but gentle smile, telling her to go find an empty seat and a partner.  Maggie liked him already, just for the fact that he didn't make her introduce herself in front of everyone like three of the previous teachers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked the distance to the end of the classroom, where it seemed to be the only place with an empty seat. Stopping in front of the last table on the far left aisle, she noticed who was the person already sitting there by herself, the one only Alex Danvers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie's heart may have tripped on itself just for a moment, but she would not admit it yet. That wasn't a reasonable reaction to have at seeing someone she never exchanged words with, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie shook her head slightly and blamed her general nervousness, also clearing her throat to try to call Alex's attention. It didn't really work. Alex seemed to be completely concentrated at reading a book Maggie couldn't identify.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Excuse me?". Maggie asked almost getting close enough to invade Alex's personal space. That made Alex notice her and Maggie fidgeted with her backpack straps as soon as their eyes met. "Teacher told me to find a partner?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex looked at her with curiosity, taking a bit too long to answer. What else could Maggie do besides stand there and wait?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally Alex seemed to notice what she was doing and shook her head, moving a bit so Maggie could sit next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sorry. Of course. Maggie, right?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. “Yep. That’s me”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex extended her hand for Maggie to shake and introduced herself, the very same thing Kara had done the day before. Maybe it was a sister thing, Maggie wouldn’t know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their hands stayed there, interlaced and hanging between the both of them for longer than necessary, as they smiled at each other in a way that should have been awkward but somehow it wasn’t, until the teacher called their attention and started the lesson. Maggie observed her as Alex paid full attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie wasn’t one to blindly trust her feelings. She would rather rationalize them first and later decide to act on them or not. That’s why it took her months of planning on how to approach Eliza Wilky and ask her to go to the dance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Months of analysing the pros and cons of telling Eliza how she felt, trusting the girl would at least keep it to herself in case she didn’t feel the same way towards Maggie. And if she was lucky enough, maybe they could even remain as friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, trusting someone with something so intimate and taking that leap of faith didn’t go well for Maggie. Eliza got scared off and maybe even disgusted, if Maggie thought a little bit about it.  But losing her friendship with Eliza was not in the slightest the worst that had happened to her. So Maggie decided not to fall for this sense of security Midvale High and its students were giving her. Even if the little voice in the back of her head, telling her there was something about Alex Danvers that she could trust, was very persistent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Maggie could notice, the bell rang and the class was dismissed. Looking at the board she saw that she had already had that particular lesson about cellular division back in Blue Springs and couldn’t possibly have missed much. She also noticed Alex didn’t shift her attention to anything that wasn’t the board or her notes, maybe it was a good idea to stay around one of those nerds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie found an empty table at the cafeteria to start eating, it didn’t take too long for her to hear Kara’s voice, and even less time for the younger Danvers to sit next to her, talking enthusiastically with Winn about the next soccer game they had to cover for the school news. As they waved her hello and made themselves comfortable at the table, Maggie started to wonder when exactly did those two befriended her.     </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie remained in silence though, not willing to interrupt the animated conversation, until a very tall boy showed up too and stood in front of them. Maggie barely heard Kara taking a breath just to say hello to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He laughed it off as if he was used to this kind of behavior from Kara, and moved to introduce himself to Maggie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, I’m J-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“JAMES!”- A feminine voice called from behind and he barely had time to look before a girl jumped on his back. “We missed you”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You saw me yesterday”- He said not making a single effort to put her down</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but that is different”- Another girl, with hair even shorter than Alex’s, stood next to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Different how?” - Winn wondered from his place next to Kara who was now also paying attention to the commotion in front of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, for starters, he’s not under Ms. Grant’s ey-... Wait, are you the new girl Maggie?”. The girl still on James back asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone turned their eyes to her and Maggie felt like a huge spotlight was pointing directly at her, making every single word invented by humanity just escape her mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys are scaring her.” - Alex walked through the confusion and sat down on the table right in front of Maggie, making everyone get quite as the same time as she shifted the attention out of Maggie. “... And Lucy, get off of James, please. People are trying to eat”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aye, captain...”- Lucy said in a sort of mocking tone but did what was asked. “And we’re not scaring her, are we?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie watched the whole thing partially amused, partially impressed at this group’s interactions. She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head, a joyful and honest side smile on her lips. “Nope”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can tell the truth, it won’t hurt our feelings.”- The girl that arrived with Lucy joked, making Maggie hear a round of laughter and catch Alex’s lips turning a little into a smile as she  drank her orange juice. “I’m Vasquez, by the way. Those are Lucy and James and I guess you already know Winn and the double trouble here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” - Kara and Alex complained at the same time, making everyone laugh again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s about right.” - Maggie replied to Vasquez, already concluding those guys were the no sense and funny type of people. “Nice to meet all of you”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe she should give Midvale High some credit after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the introductions, lunch break was pretty quiet with everyone paying attention to their own small talk, until Lucy hit the table with enough force to make a big noise</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are we gonna do on the weekend?” she asked dramatically</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s still tuesday?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly , Winn, we have to plan things ahead”. Lucy explained as if it was obvious as 2 + 2</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How about the beach? Weather forecast says it won’t rain.” - James suggested and one by one, everyone agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanna come, Maggie?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucy asked, but before she could even have time to answer, Kara was already jumping on the seat next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, my God. it’s gonna be perfect. The beach is beautiful, you’re gonna love it. You have to come!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-...”. Maggie didn’t know what to say. Because making plans and going out with people she just met seemed way too much, but at the same time Kara looked so honest and hopeful, reminding Maggie of a puppy from another specific breed she couldn’t pinpoint exactly. It was hard to let the girl down “... Sure. Count me in”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bell rang again among the cheers of Kara and the others. In a blink of an eye they all had picked up trays and were exiting the cafeteria, leaving Maggie behind with Alex.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey…”. The other girl said, also picking up her tray and getting Maggie’s attention. “I’m sorry for that, I know they can be kind of… intense”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t say…”. Alex chuckled and the fact that Maggie felt slightly proud didn’t really mean anything, right? “How do you keep up with them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex shrugged. “Guess I’m used to”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie nodded and they walked back to the hallways together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, you don’t have to go the beach if you don’t really want” - Alex pointed out when they had to go in different directions - "I know Kara can be a little insistent"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll keep that in mind"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie didn't say, but she was thankful for the way out, since the chances of her chickening out at the last minute were not low enough to be ignored.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Guess I see you around?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie nodded and tried to put on her face the least awkward expression she could muster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"See you around, Danvers"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the day was uneventful. Except maybe for the last period where Maggie found out she also had it with Alex, plus Lucy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the school day ended, she walked all the way back to their new house and started to do some organizing. When she finished she turned on the stove to heat up the dinner Lauren had prepared in the morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before moving to Midvale, Maggie would spend most of the time alone in the house. She hoped it would be different here, since back in Blue Springs Lauren had to start working two jobs to provide for both her and Maggie, and one of the reasons they moved was because she had received a good offer to work in a local clinic, that would let her be at home more often.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie was thankful, because she couldn't help feeling guilty having to watch her aunt work until nearly exhaustion just to keep feeding her. Of course Maggie had fought about it before, informing Lauren she would drop out of school to also get a job, but her aunt never let her, always insisting for Maggie to keep studying because that was going to be the way she would find a better life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not knowing what else to do, Maggie listened to Lauren, but still would make sure to help with anything that would make her aunt's life easier. It didn't matter if it was by cleaning the house, going to the supermarket or trying to learn how to cook simple meals. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking in a teenager was a lot of responsibility for a 27 years old, but there wasn't a single day, during the past months, that Lauren didn't make Maggie feel more than welcomed on her house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once dinner was good to go, Maggie turned on the stereo and started to do her homework while listening to the Dookie album by Green Day. Lauren arrived not 15 minutes later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wow… it smells good in here" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You say that as if you don't know how great your cooking is"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie was still concentrated doing some physics exercises and failed to notice the satisfied smile on her aunt's face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How was school?" - Lauren asked, moving to sit by the table with Maggie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl just shrugged. "Normal, I guess?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That picked up Lauren's attention, because whenever she asked, Maggie's answer ranged from absolutely no reply to </span>
  <em>
    <span>just school being school</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What happened?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie got up from the table, moving her books, pencils and pens to the couch to make space for them to have dinner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Some kids invited me to go to the beach with them on the weekend". She said trying to downplay the whole thing because she knew Lauren would probably make a big deal out of it</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And she was right. Her aunt made an exaggerated fake surprised noise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"OH MY GOD. Maggie Sawyer has friends?!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie rolled her eyes knowing this was more about Lauren teasing than actual excitement, even if there was some truth behind it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I wouldn't go that far" - Maggie tried to stop the teasing while putting  the plates and cutlery on the table, but that only made Lauren ask more about the details during the whole dinner, that Maggie replied with questions about her aunt's job in the clinic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So… Are you going out on the weekend?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie was honest. "I don't know." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lauren only nodded. And after finishing dinner she got up and turned on the stereo's volume on as she went to her bedroom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Green Day, huh? I knew I've raised well"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie looked at her quizzically. "You didn't even have the time to raise me yet?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"DETAILS!". Lauren shouted from behind the door and Maggie just shook her head amused as she cleaned up from dinner before finishing her homework.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the week passed too fast for Maggie’s liking and soon enough it was Saturday morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had to admit her days on Midvale were going pretty well, though. Lauren would wake up before dawn, cook and leave for work after waking Maggie up. The school was pretty uneventful after the first two days and once she arrived at the house, Maggie would do some cleaning, homework, or watch tv until her aunt arrived so they could have dinner together and chat a little before Lauren had to go to sleep.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At school she also found out that, except from mondays, she had at least one class everyday with Alex. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie wanted to think that it was the calm nature of the girl compared to the rest of the group that made her gravitate towards Alex and not something else, because she shouldn’t be feeling this </span>
  <em>
    <span>something else </span>
  </em>
  <span>already</span>
  <em>
    <span>, </span>
  </em>
  <span>right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t make sense to feel it yet, because only a few months ago she was wishing to risk everything for a chance with Eliza Wilky. Things haven’t gone well and Eliza broke her heart not only as a high school crush but also as a friend and Maggie was still dealing with the consequences.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even with all of that, Eliza had occupied a special place on Maggie’s heart for so long, it was hard to believe she was already feeling the early stages of having a crush on a girl again. And she recognized those signs because she had known she liked girls for quite some time now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She only wished this ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>having crushes’</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing would give her a break. Apparently they tended to not end well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Either way, Maggie had no problem admitting to herself that a girl was beautiful and, objetifically speaking, Alex was beautiful. But so was Lucy, Vasquez and multiple other girls from school. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The thing about the older Danvers sister was that, for some reason, she seemed easier to be around, since there were no multiple questions about why Maggie moved with her aunt to Midvale right after the holiday’s break, that she always answered with half truths; or about how was her life back in Blue Springs, that would always make Maggie be extra careful to not mention her parents.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With Alex was either a comfortable silence, since the girl had a book on her hands almost all the time, or some talk about soccer, tv shows, movies and other trivial things. So it should be natural for Maggie to want to spend more time with her, even if deep down Maggie knew there was something else about Alex that had caught her attention right away. She just wasn’t so sure if she wanted to figure it out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie watched as her phone lit up notifications but didn’t move from the bed to check the messages. It was probably the group chat with the guys from school talking about the beach day they have planned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>During the night before, Lucy and James had made sure that everyone would remember to bring sunscreen, towels and a change of clothes and that they should meet at 10:00 am at the Danvers house, that Maggie was told it basically had the ocean as its backyard.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was already 10:13 am when she heard Lauren waking up and moving around the kitchen to eat the breakfast Maggie had left for her. She decided to get up and say hello to her aunt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Morning, kid”. - Lauren greeted her in between swallowing pancakes and drinking coffee. Maggie waved but remained in silence and decided to just watch tv . “Got any plans for today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure…”. She pointed out the cartoon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lauren didn’t press any further, but as soon as she finished eating and did the dishes, she walked up to Maggie and stood right behind her on the sofa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll stay in bed all day, call me if you need anything.”. She then kissed the top of Maggie’s head. It was the biggest demonstration of affection she would give because her niece wasn’t very comfortable with anything else and still, it had meant the world for Maggie for the past  months.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Lauren closed the door of her bedroom, the cartoon went to a commercial break. Without thinking too much, otherwise the wave of courage would sure go away, Maggie ran to her bedroom and grabbed her backpack that was packaged according to James instructions since earlier. She left in a hurry, walking in a record time the three blocks that separated her house from the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finding the Danvers house wasn't very difficult. The beach was mostly empty because not many people were crazy enough to go there thanks to the lower temperatures. So it was easy to locate the group of people that Maggie assumed it was becoming her friends, all she had to do was follow the screaming and laughing she could hear from far away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's happening?" - Maggie asked Winn, who was playing a game on his tablet, as she sat down on the sand next to him, pointing out the scene in front of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vasquez was running, trying to catch Lucy in what seemed to be a game of tag, but with James and Kara shouting out the seconds. Alex was nowhere to be seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's sudden death tag" - Winn explained. "You have to catch the other person in 30 seconds or you're out"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie nodded in understanding, observing how  Vasquez and Lucy both run impressively fast even in the soft sand. No wonder they were both wingers for the Midvale soccer team.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vasquez caught Lucy with 13 seconds remaining and soon they were both trying to catch their breaths and saying hello to Maggie at the same time, resulting in a bunch of incomprehensible words. Maggie laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Where's Alex?" - She asked Winn again, but the boy was already too engrossed in his game and didn’t listen to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was Kara, after a welcome hug, that pointed out to the water, and Maggie could see in the distance a small auburn point in the waves. She had to catch herself to not let her jaw drop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex was surfing like the temperature of the water was nothing, staying on the tubes for so long Maggie was almost sure the waves would crash right on her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Amazing, right?" - Kara said also paying attention to her sister. All Maggie could do was nod. Was there anything that girl couldn't do?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were half through a game of Uno when Alex came back to the sand, hair completely splattered on her face and wearing a navy blue and black wet suit. She was also shivering so hard from the cold she barely had the time to wave Maggie hello before Kara shoved a towel into her face and took her inside the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie still didn't get why someone would go near the water during the winter, but she had to admit the surfer look was a good one on Alex.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she came back with hair still wet, but wearing dry clothes, Lucy and James were accusing the other of cheating and trying to establish, without success, which UNO rules they were exactly using. Vasquez had given up on trying to stop the fight and was now listening to Winn's explanation about this new MMORPG he was playing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex had a soccer ball in her hands and it sure was that, not how Alex was smiling in a totally adorable way, that caught Maggie's attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wanna play?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie got up, shaking the sand away from her shorts. - "Of course"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had learned during the week that Alex wasn't just the playmaker for Midvale High soccer team, but also their captain. In one of their conversations Maggie mentioned she was an offensive midfielder herself back in Blue Springs, even if their soccer team wasn't an outstanding one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That got the attention from Lucy and Vasquez too and they insisted on playing with Maggie one of those days. Guess it was showtime.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked the distance 'till near the water side by side with Alex as they passed the ball between them, then they picked up their own pair of sandals and made two improvised goals, one for Alex to defend and the other for Maggie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex gave one last pass for her and went closer to her goal. "Whoever scores three times first wins. You start".</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie could sense the change in the atmosphere. She had watched Alex's team practice only twice, but it was enough to know they all basically turned into different people when they were playing. They became more serious, more attentive and of course, more competitive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Maggie could almost feel the competitiveness coming from Alex in waves, the fact that she had let Maggie have the first chance to score was just politeness, and she was almost sure that said politeness wouldn't last long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She started then to move slowly, touching the ball with the outside of her foot, inviting Alex to get closer to try to steal the ball and in consequence leave an open space for Maggie to shoot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex didn't move much though and when the ball was only a couple meters away, she sprinted, barely giving time for Maggie to dribble and shoot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She missed the shot and Alex now had the ball's possession.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie knew the captain was really good in the defense when required, she should have known it wasn't going to be easy to score on her. But before Alex could also test the offensive techniques on her, Lucy and Vasquez joined the game, making Alex and Maggie play against them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Back in Blue Springs Maggie was the fastest on the team, combined with the great ball control she had, score wasn’t much of a problem once she received a good pass. Still, after playing with Vasquez and especially with Lucy, she realized she wouldn’t be able to beat them in the speed department.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But none of them were particularly exceptional on defense like Alex, so Maggie ended up finding her way through them with one or two dribbles that left the girls lying on the sand for everyone’s amusement. Plus, the combination with Alex incredible playmaker abilities guided them to a 7x3 win before lunch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were welcomed by Eliza Danvers (Maggie only shivered a bit at the name) one by one with a hug. Maggie was the last one, and Eliza only put a hand on her shoulder, a nice smile on her lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must be the famous Maggie. I hope you like Lasagna”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie didn’t know why she would be famous but didn’t put too much thought into it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was probably the most noisy lunch she had ever had and also probably the funniest. Before moving in with her aunt, any meal on the Sawyer’s house had to be done as if they were in a five star restaurant with small talk here and there, especially when her father was at the table too. Living with Lauren made Maggie get used to eating mostly by herself, so the sight of  very enthusiastic chats all around the table and a mild battle of everyone against Kara for one more slice of Eliza’s famous lasagna, sure was a completely different scenario.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And probably the only reason why Maggie wasn’t totally overwhelmed by that organized confusion, was Alex calmly eating and chatting next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So… I’m going to talk to coach Rapinoe and see if you can at least practice with us”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would be really nice. Thanks, Alex”.- The girl smiled shyly and Maggie felt a little urge to make said smile grow .“It would be a good change from only hitting a ball on the wall in my backyard”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex giggled then, having to make an effort not to spill the soda she had just put into her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She should have listened to the hundreds of bells ringing on her head, it was a pretty clear sign that she was definitely going down the path of having a crush on Alex Danvers, but Maggie was too preoccupied trying to stop herself from laughing too much at the adorable girl next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On monday Maggie was almost jumping out of her skin from both excitement and nervousness, not that it would be visible to anyone that didn’t really know her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fact that every one of her friends wished her good luck calmed her down a bit, besides Vasquez, Lucy and Alex seemed to be sure coach Rapinoe would be happy as them to have Maggie on the team.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The school day passed way too slow though, especially without Alex to actually make her pay more attention in class instead of drift off her mind to somewhere else, but by the time she walked into the lockers and changed into her soccer player attire, everything went by too fast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Maggie had to stop and think, she would barely remember walking on the field, or Alex’s hand on her back as she introduced Maggie to the coach. Maybe she would be able to tell some details as she was explained how practice would work, but she was sure the one thing she would keep on her mind was the feeling of playing alongside Alex.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Maggie thought before that Alex had a great pass, being on the receiving end of them was even better. And Watching Alex make the plays or trying to score by kicking from outside the penalty area almost left her with an opened mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, when practice ended and coach Rap welcomed her to the team and Lucy and Vasquez basically tackled her on the ground so the others could jump on top of them was probably the best part. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe Lauren was right about Midvale. When she caught the smile on Alex’s face she decided to definitely give this city a try.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The beginning of February  brought Maggie the perspective of a new future. Things seemed to be going well with the soccer team and her new friends, but there was still a tiny little problem that wasn’t so tiny as she wanted it to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To Maggie, her growing crush on Alex shouldn’t even be a problem in the first place because she had no intention to do anything about it, but there were times she couldn’t help to flush red or get too awkward around Alex. It usually ended up in hilarious situations, according to Lucy. Still, the fear that anyone would find out she had more than friendly feelings towards Alex was overwhelming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie thought about staying away, but with the soccer practices and the fact that Alex was basically her best friend, it was almost impossible. Besides, Lauren would always tell her to never be ashamed of what she feels, that there was no need to hide, no matter how many times they had to move cities.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She still wanted to be careful, though. The thought of suddenly losing the little things she managed to build since moving to Midvale still scared Maggie, even if she had the impression that these people were different, she would never be 100% sure they wouldn’t change if they knew who she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s why she was super nervous to find out she and Alex were the only ones attending a movie night organized by Kara to get them in the mood for Valentine’s day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The idea was to watch a bunch of romantic comedies and get in the mood for the Valentine's dance Midvale high was promoting. Basically everyone of the group cringed at the idea and was going to refuse on the spot, but Kara and her super powerful Labradors like blue eyes convinced the whole group it was a good idea for a saturday afternoon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie didn’t know if all their friends found good excuses or if Kara cancelled last minute and she was the only one that didn’t know, but thing was, now she was alone at Danver’s house with Alex.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other girl didn’t seem very comfortable either. There was some mix of frustration and embarrassment and Maggie even suggested she should just go home but Alex didn’t let her. They decided not to watch any of the movies Kara had separated for the evening, instead, Alex picked up some old scary movie she used to watch with her father. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie wasn’t sure why neither Kara nor Alex ever mentioned their father, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out from the family photos all around the living room. Some older ones with little Alex and her parents and others with Kara not much older than she is now, but the most recent ones only had three people on them. So either their dad left or passed away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is Night of the living dead a good start?” - Alex asked coming back from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. Maggie just nodded and they started the movie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Almost halfway through it, she noticed Alex quite restless on the couch, doing her signature nervous scratch on the back of her neck, not that Maggie had been paying more attention to the girl next to her than on the TV in front of them..</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not scared of zombies from the 90’s, are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex jumped a tiny bit on her seat and Maggie first thought was </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but immediately made the thought go away when Alex turned to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! Of course not…”. It wasn’t very convincing, and it got even worse when Alex kinda started to blush. It was impossible to keep a straight face. “I’m serious, stop laughing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s ok to admit your fears, dude…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not scared!” It was the last thing Maggie heard before she felt  a cushion hitting her right in the head, making her lose her balance and fall shoulder first on the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ouch!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maggie, Oh, my god!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sharp pain in her left right arm and shoulder and she didn’t really register that Alex was kneeling on the floor, basically straddling her legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,  I think I’ll survi-...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie noticed way too many things at the same time. First, that Alex must have washed her hair this morning because the smell of lavender was still pretty strong; second, was that Alex got a really small crinkle between her eyebrows whenever she made a concerned face; and third was that her touch on Maggie’s leg, even with the jeans of her pants as a barrier, was so delicate it almost made a shiver run all over Maggie’s body, leaving her paralized.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure you’re ok?”. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex must have noticed her lack of reaction, but there wasn’t much Maggie could do, it was physically impossible to move when Alex was this close and looking at her with such softness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knew should move quickly or her feelings would become obvious, but the brown of Alex’s eyes made it impossible not to stare, and mixed with the lavender scent, it only made Maggie want to come closer, as if any reasonable thought had left her head and all she wanted was to let herself feel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t help her case, when the milliseconds passed by and Alex didn’t move either. A tiny voice in the back of Maggie’s mind made her question if, by some extraordinary miracle, it was possible that the other girl felt something for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She almost had enough courage to hear that voice, but the front door opened and Alex’s mom walked in announcing they were going to have chicken for dinner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie still couldn’t move, but she watched Alex get up so fast to help her mom with the bags Eliza didn’t have the time to catch them by the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you staying for dinner, sweetie?”- Eliza asked and if it was in any other circumstance, she would have said yes, but Alex wouldn’t look at her and Maggie could feel the discomfort coming from her. She said she had promised she would have dinner with Lauren and left the Danver’s house already thinking on how she was capable of ruining everything she got close to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The closer they got to Valentine's day and its dance, Maggie could feel the levels of  the universe’s mockery rising. The school was full of heart shaped love letters on the hallways, heart shaped balloons and rainbows all around, as everyone seemed excited to see who would pull off the most impressive show when trying to ask someone else to the dance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie would have said it was all stupid, though she had to admit some of those askings were fun to watch. She even had thought about inviting Alex to go with her, as friends, and with any of their friends that also didn’t have a date, but since the almost.... </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>.... That happened while watching movies with Alex, the girl sure was avoiding her and Maggie was sure her presence was leaving Alex uncomfortable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was visible on the way she stumbled on her words and would almost awkwardly run away once they stayed close for too long. Still, Maggie knew she should consider herself lucky, because making a girl feel uncomfortable wasn’t as bad as having to move to another state because of people’s intolerance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So she just made up her mind and decided to apologize to Alex, leave everything in the open and let the girl decide what she wanted to do with their friendship. Lauren had said to not be ashamed of how she feels, but also to be honest with people if you wanted them to be the same with you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last time she wrote a confession letter she basically lost everything, but after a good talk, Lauren may have convinced Maggie that the people in Midvale were nothing like the ones from Blue Springs. So even with her heart running like crazy inside her chest, even with her thinking that the white envelope full of small teddy bears holding hearts was too much (the stationary store didn’t have anything that wasn’t valentine's themed), and even with the risk of getting caught, in between classes, she slid the short letter through Alex’s locker, already thinking about all the ways she could apologize when the girl reacted badly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you would be more original when asking Alex to the dance”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie turned way too quickly to look like she wasn’t doing anything suspicious. She played with the straps of thinking about what she could tell Lucy that would make the girl unsee the scene. Nothing came to Maggie’s mind as the silence stretched for way too long. Thankfully, for some reason, Lucy seemed unfazed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I- hmm….  I’m not asking her out”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucy just shrugged and walked past her. “If you say so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*** </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie didn’t know if she should consider herself lucky or not that she barely had any contact with Alex on Mondays, and if she really didn’t want, it was easy to not see the girl all day, especially because all practises were suspended so the students could help with the Valentine’s dance arrangements.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once she arrived at home, Maggie started to rethink if it was better to just walk straight to Alex’s house and end this anxious wait that she didn’t even know how long would last. Maybe Alex would not even noticed the stupid envelope in the locker; maybe Lucy already told her what she saw and Maggie won’t get a chance to explain herself, not that there is a lot left too explain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She barely ate the lunch Lauren had made, but by the time she was doing the dishes, she heard the doorbell and with one quick look through the window, she immediately recognized Alex’s bike by the grass in front of the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her blood ran cold and her stomach dropped. Maggie thought quickly about what were the possibilities for  Alex to believe she wasn’t at home, which didn’t even make sense because not 5 minutes ago she was thinking about going to see Alex. Why does  liking someone have to be this confusing?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doorbell rang again, and powered up by the irritation with her own self, Maggie walked to the door and opened fast, not leaving time for second thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie could swear that, at first, the nervous energy around them was almost palpable, but she got a bit calmer once she noticed Alex didn’t look like in the slightest as Eliza Wilky did in the same situation. She invited Alex in and sat on the couch as she observed the girl walking from one side of the small living room to the other, her face flushed in a shade of red Maggie had never seen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It clearly wasn’t the reaction she was expecting and was understanding nothing. And she understood even less when Alex started to talk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry I don’t know how to do this kind of stuff, but Lucy said if I didn’t do it she would come here and do it herself - and I know she actually would- and she would never let me forget that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie just tilted her head to the side, more lost to the conversation than ever. Alex didn’t look like someone who was going to call her out for having a crush, so she kept listening and Alex kept walking in circles in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“... I know it might sound stupid, it is a little bit actually, cause it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you would do… or even that I would do, but it could be nice?  Don’t know. But it’s ok if you don’t want to, I totally get it”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alex, wait. What are you even  talking about?” - Maggie words made the other girl move to crouch in front of her. So close Maggie could feel the strong smell of lavender again, making the butterflies on her stomach fly in all directions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She watched almost on slow motion as Alex gulped and shook her head trying to get rid of the nervousness, but the red color that took over all of her face and was now migrating towards her neck was too much of a tell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… do you wanna go to the valentine’s dance? With me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If she wasn’t already sitting down, Maggie sure would have fallen on her butt. It was barely believable that Alex actually had said the words she did and Maggie didn’t know what to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ I mean…” - Alex continued - “Like I said, if you think it’s a stupid dance we could do something else? ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie shook her head still trying to process what Alex just asked. “Are you inviting me as... As a date?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes?”. It sounded a lot like a question and only then Maggie stopped to think that the big and tough captain of the Midvale’s soccer team was extremely cute in a way she was sure Alex didn’t want many people to know. “And?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie’s only reaction was to chuckle, but once the whirlwind of emotions had passed and Maggie was more and more comfortable to let it show how she felt, her almost automatic response was to hold Alex’s chin gently and give her a little peck on the lips. Maybe later she was going to freak out a bit because it was the first time she kissed a girl, but that was irrelevant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The freedom of not having to hold back anymore was inebriating, especially when Alex was there to make everything funnier. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’re saying you’re going with me, right? Cause that’s what I got...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie giggled. “You’re not gonna go crazy on me, are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lauren gave her the strongest hug that night and made sure to rent a very nice suit and to buy a bouquet of red roses so Maggie could give them to Alex.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kara and the others almost lit up fireworks to celebrate when Maggie showed up at the Danver’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucy was driving all of them to the dance, and almost crashed the car twice as she revealed they gang was trying, since Maggie’s first day at school, to play matchmaker with her and Alex, because Alex let it slip to Kara that she thought the new girl was cute.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie could hear in the distance Lucy and Vasquez almost dying from laughter, as she look straight at them with a shocked blank expression, remembering how Kara and the others were quick to befriend her, how they usually left the two of them on their own, and how on every group activity Alex and Maggie just </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Maggie just didn’t notice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucy was probably right when she called them gay and useless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maggie couldn’t stop her lips from forming a smile as she told Alex about the super dramatic letter she wrote and had slipped past Alex’s locker, especially because Alex herself was having way too much fun with the story as they slowed danced to some extremely cheesy songs, in a room full of heart shaped balloons and glitter, surrounded by their friends that kept making kissing noises at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mind if we give them a show?” - Maggie asked and as soon as Alex nodded ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>no’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she pressed their lips together and maybe there were some cheers, but she wasn’t sure, the soft and sweetness of Alex’s lips made everything else go blank, and there was only them there at the moment.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy Valentine's day :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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